A senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards calls the growing tensions with the US a “clash of wills,” and says Iran’s armed forces will remain watchful of the US government.

“The confrontation and face-off of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the malicious government of America is the arena for a clash of wills,” Major General Mohammad Baqeri is quoted as saying in state-run media according to Reuters.

“The enemies should know that the Iranian military will not waste even a single moment monitoring the enemies’ schemes and adventurism,” he says.

Baqeri adds that Iran will deliver a “hard, crushing and obliterating response” to any enemy “adventurism.”

Firefighters are working to put out at least three fires in the Jerusalem area, including one at an apartment building in the nearby Beitar Illit settlement where residents are believed to be trapped inside.

According to news reports, firefighters have pulled three children from the building in Beitar Illit, and are working to locate other residents.

Other blaze was reported adjacent to the Uzi Narkiss Bridge in northern Jerusalem, and in the Mevasseret Zion suburb.

Usually warm temperatures and smoldering remains of Lag B’Omer bonfires have sparked dozens of brush fires across the country.

Earlier, authorities evacuated dozens of residents in the southern West Bank settlement of Beit Hagai as firefighters battled a nearby blaze.

“The situation in the Persian Gulf and the region, and the situation surrounding the Vienna nuclear agreement, is extremely serious,” the German Foreign Ministry says in an email to The Associated Press. “There is a real risk of escalation — including due to misunderstandings or an incident. In this situation, dialogue is very important.”

Relations between Washington and Tehran plummeted a year ago when Trump pulled out of the multinational agreement negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama under which Tehran drastically scaled back its nuclear work in return for promises of sanctions relief.

Tensions have ratcheted up further this month, with Washington announcing additional economic measures against Tehran, before deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region over a still-unexplained threat it perceived from Iran.

The Torah was dedicated to Lori Gilbert Kaye, 60, who was killed on April 27 when a gunman walked into the synagogue on the last day of Passover and opened fire on congregants with a semiautomatic assault rifle. Authorities said the man emptied the 10 rounds from the gun and was carrying 50 more but had trouble reloading and during the pause he was chased outside by some congregation members.

Kaye was hit twice in the synagogue foyer.

Kaye’s husband, Howard Kaye, carried the Torah through the street.

The ceremony was conducted by Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who lost a finger in the attack and appeared with his hands bandaged. An 8-year-old girl and her uncle also were wounded.

The head of the United Nations organization for Palestinian refugees rejects a US call to dismantle the agency, saying it cannot be blamed for stalled peace efforts.

UNRWA’s commissioner general Pierre Krahenbuhl rebuffs the criticism from US envoy Jason Greenblatt during a visit to the Gaza Strip.

“I unreservedly reject the accompanying narrative that suggests that somehow UNRWA is to blame for the continuation of the refugee-hood of Palestine refugees, of their growing numbers and their growing needs,” he says in response to a question about Greenblatt’s comments.

Pierre Krähenbul, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), speaks at a press conference in Gaza City on May 23, 2019. (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

“The fact that UNRWA still exists today is an illustration of the failure of the parties and the international community to resolve the issue politically — and one cannot deflect the attention onto a humanitarian organization,” he says at a press conference in Gaza City.

The Trump administration last year cut off its roughly $300 million annual donation to UNRWA, and administration officials now argue the agency has run its course.

The head of Fire and Rescue Services calls up all firefighters in Israel’s central region in light of the large number of blazes in the area.

Firefighters are battling fires outside Jerusalem and Modiin and in the southern West Bank. Hundreds of residents have been evacuated and Route 443 is closed to traffic as fire teams attempt to control a massive blaze.

Some 22 people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation from the wave of brush fires raging in central Israel today, including 2 in moderate condition, according to Magen David Adom spokesman Zaki Heller.

In Jerusalem, an 80-year-old man is hospitalized at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center after collapsing from an apparent heatstroke. The man is said to be in serious condition.

Another fire, in the Hof Ashkelon region, is still raging as “large numbers of firefighting forces” are working to extinguish it, the fire department says.

This fire was found not to have been caused by a Gaza balloon, according to an initial investigation.

In addition, a huge number of firefighting teams, assisted by construction crews and volunteers, are working to extinguish a massive fire outside the community of Kiryat Malachi, which began in a wheat field and spread to a number of greenhouses and surrounding grasslands.

“At this stage, the firefighters have control of the fire, and a lot of damage has been caused to the area. The firefighters are still working to fully extinguish the blazes,” a fire department spokesperson says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joins other world leaders in congratulating Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his reelection.

“Narendra, my friend, congratulations! What a great victory! I hope that we will see each other soon, as soon as you form a government and as soon as we establish our own,” Netanyahu tells his Indian counterpart in a phone conversation.

He tells Modi the “amazing results” of the election is “a testimony to your leadership.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bids farewell to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at Ben Gurion International Airport on June 6, 2017. (Kobi Gideo/GPO)

Iran will not hold talks with the US “under any circumstances” while the rights of the Islamic republic are not respected, says a senior official quoted by state media.

“We have said clearly… as long as the rights of our nation are not satisfied, as long as words don’t change into action, our path will stay the same as now,” says Keyvan Khosravi, spokesman of the Supreme National Security Council.

“There will be no talks under any circumstances,” he is quoted as saying by the official state news agency IRNA.

Khosravi says there has been an uptick in official delegations traveling to Tehran from various capitals, though “most of them are coming on behalf of America.”

“Without exception we have responded with the message of the Iranian nation’s strength, reason and resistance” in line with the policies of the Islamic republic, he adds.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summons party faction heads to an urgent meeting at his office this evening at 8:30, as his coalition negotiations appear to be at an impasse.

Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on April 30, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Earlier, party sources told Hebrew-language media outlets that Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman “blew up coalition talks” over legislation formalizing draft exemptions for religious seminary students and other matters of religion and state.

Liberman is considered Netanyahu’s main obstacle in forming a coalition, as the premier’s Likud party needs Yisrael Beytenu’s five seats to secure a ruling majority.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders the government to request foreign assistance as firefighters in Israel struggle to put out dozens of wildfires raging across the country.

In a tweet, Netanyahu says the National Security Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security have been instructed to reach out “immediately” for aerial assistance. He does not specify which countries Israel would approach, but a senior Fire Department official said earlier they could turn to Cyprus, Greece and Croatia for help.

Prosecutors in Pittsburgh have previously indicated their intent to seek the death penalty against Bowers, but a final decision rests with the US attorney general.

Assistant US Attorney Troy Rivetti says the death penalty review process is ongoing. He says the government won’t discuss plea negotiations in open court. Both sides met on May 9.

Clarke, who is known for negotiating plea deals that helped some of the nation’s most infamous killers avoid death row, said at Bowers’ February arraignment that he was open to such a deal, telling a judge the defense wanted to avoid a trial.

Bowers opened fire with an AR-15 rifle and other weapons during worship services inside Tree of Life, killing eight men and three women before a tactical police team tracked him down and shot him, according to state and federal affidavits. He expressed hatred of Jews during the rampage and later told police that “all these Jews need to die,” authorities said.

Bowers faces a 63-count indictment that charges him with hate crimes, obstructing religious belief and using a firearm during crimes of violence.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told Likud officials he is mulling calling new elections due to Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman’s refusal to back down from his demands on religion and state issues.

Earlier, party sources told Hebrew-language media outlets that Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman “blew up coalition talks” over legislation formalizing draft exemptions for religious seminary students and other matters of religion and state.

He is suspected of having operated a “bunker-like” hotel in Taganga, a Colombian fishing village that has become popular with backpackers, where young women and underage girls were sexually exploited, the statement says.

Iran President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic republic will not surrender to US pressure or abandon its ideals, even if it is bombed.

“More than one year after the imposition of these severe sanctions, our people have not bowed to pressures despite facing difficulties in their lives,” Rouhani is quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency, according to Reuters.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the death of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in Tehran, Iran, on January 10, 2019. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

“We need resistance, so our enemies know that if they bomb our land, and if our children are martyred, wounded or taken as prisoners, we will not give up on our goals for the independence of our country and our pride,” he says at a commemoration of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Relations between Washington and Tehran plummeted a year ago when Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Tensions have ratcheted up further in recent weeks, with Washington announcing additional economic measures against Tehran, before deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region over a still-unexplained threat it perceived from Iran.

The Pentagon is presenting proposals to the White House to send military reinforcements to the Middle East to beef up defenses against Iran amid heightened tensions in the region, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says.

Shanahan told reporters the Defense Department has not yet determined how many troops might be sent to reinforce the existing US military presence in the region.

He disputes reports by The Associated Press and others that the Pentagon is proposing to send up to 10,000 more troops. He said reports citing specific figures were “not correct,” but he would not say whether the number under consideration was higher or lower.

“What we’re focused on right now is, do we have the right force protection in the Middle East,” Shanahan says, referring to defensive forces. “It may involve sending additional troops.”

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The Pentagon is presenting proposals to the White House to send military reinforcements to the Middle East to beef up defenses against Iran amid heightened tensions in the region, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says.

Shanahan told reporters the Defense Department has not yet determined how many troops might be sent to reinforce the existing US military presence in the region.

He disputes reports by The Associated Press and others that the Pentagon is proposing to send up to 10,000 more troops. He said reports citing specific figures were “not correct,” but he would not say whether the number under consideration was higher or lower.

“What we’re focused on right now is, do we have the right force protection in the Middle East,” Shanahan says, referring to defensive forces. “It may involve sending additional troops.”